Chapter 298

Master, you...

Beyond the county town, in the desolate mountains, the monkey, long accustomed to human life, stared at the master's terrifying dharma manifestation suffused with blood and qi, unable to speak.

You could actually come in your true form; this dharma manifestation is still too frightening...

The more spiritually perceptive a person is, the more clearly they sense the terrifying aura of this Western King dharma manifestation; to a naturally gifted spirit like the monkey, it appears utterly as a great demon king.

As the saying goes, form follows the mind; the concrete appearance of a dharma manifestation usually reflects its master's true inner state. For Lin Liu to have cultivated such an extraordinary dharma manifestation shows he must be a cruel person! Yet the monkey clearly knows that his master is not only not wicked, but is as good as a person can be—a great benevolent one...

This act that defies common sense, seen through the monkey's eyes, is undoubtedly very strange.

Or rather, in the monkey's eyes, Lin Liu has always been a strange and mysterious person:

The dharma manifestation is strange, his state of mind strange, his origin strange, his thoughts strange—altogether he's a riddle person! In this situation, although the monkey knows the master would never harm it, just standing beside this dharma manifestation keeps its inner alarm naturally on edge...

True form? That's too dangerous.

Lin Liu laughed and shook his head.

Having survived this long, his mind had already formed a complete logic: in short, to stay steady and secure, keep his true body hidden behind the scenes, and handle almost all external communication through dream transmissions and dharma manifestations.

There's no other reason, mainly because the Western King's lesson was too profound. This Lin Liu, the first Dao cultivator he ever met in his life, used his two lifetimes to stage two negative examples for Lin Liu: both times, his true body was exposed before people and he died.

Thus, it's no surprise that Lin Liu developed the habit of clinging to life.

But the monkey didn't think this was right:

Dangerous?

It let out a faint sigh; although the Dao true body is fragile, it's not completely helpless, and the master's extreme caution is really overdoing it...

Shaking its head, the monkey brushed past the topic and asked anxiously:

"Master, are we really going to help the court suppress the rebel armies?"

Lin Liu glanced at it, fully understanding its thoughts, and then spoke earnestly: "You also know that those so-called rebel armies are mostly what sort of lot; they shout nice slogans like equal land distribution and tax exemption, yet when they arrive they don't pay taxes..."

"But actually? Do they really exempt taxes? Do they really let the tillers have the land?"

"They won't!"

Lin Liu said solemnly: "I don't know if anyone in the future could achieve it, but at present these so-called rebel armies definitely cannot; after they capture cities and seize land, they only plunder and loot, bringing greater disaster to the populace everywhere—so why shouldn't we suppress them?"

The monkey hesitated for a moment: "But... the rebel armies can rise only because the court is misgoverned; although the rebel armies are mostly no good, the court is absolutely not clean either... For us to blindly support the court and suppress the rebels, isn't that..."

"Isn't that helping Zhou to do evil?" The monkey's words are not without reason.

From the heart, it actually supports the rebel armies, because it has always backed the oppressed to resist; oppression invites resistance, that's natural and just—how could we press down a bullied person and not let them fight back? Lin Liu raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile:

"Then, according to your view, if we let the rebel armies run wild attacking cities and seizing land—leaving aside their killing and looting for now—just suppose they maintain strict discipline and never kill or loot; what would the future look like?"

The monkey perked up at once: "That would naturally be to overturn heaven and earth! Millions of people would unite into an army and jointly attack the government offices and the court."

"We must overthrow the tyrannical gentry! Punish corrupt officials! Redistribute the land! Make the old emperor roll down from the Golden Throne Hall!"

The monkey grew more excited as it spoke, as if it had already, amid the support of hundreds of millions, toppled the court, smashed the imperial palace plaque with a club, and frightened the old emperor into hiding under the table...

But Lin Liu only smiled and slowly said a single word:

"Then what?"

"Then..."

The monkey blinked, then scratched its head: "Well then... wouldn't it just be peace? Without the court, everyone would be at peace..."

It's just a monkey detached from the human world, never having thought so deeply; in its eyes, world peace means no corrupt officials or tyrannical gentry.

Lin Liu's smile gradually faded:

If you really think that way, then congratulations—you've just kicked off a new cycle of rise and fall; in three or four hundred years, corrupt officials will spring up again, and the land distributed to each person will once more concentrate in the hands of those tyrants.

And the new court founded by those rebel armies will likewise face wave after wave of new rebels—thus the cycle repeats, and the world forever turns in this wheel.

"Is this the future you want?"

Lin Liu's words left the monkey staring blankly...

But Lin Liu didn't stop; he continued:

Three hundred years ago, when the previous dynasty fell into great chaos, the founding emperor of our dynasty once embraced your idea, led the rebel armies to seize the previous dynasty's realm, and dreamed that the dynasty he founded would enjoy eternal peace.

Six hundred years ago, when the dynasty before that fell into great chaos, the founding emperor of that dynasty also once, amid the cheers of the rebel armies, donned the imperial robe and dreamed that the realm would endure forever.

One thousand years ago, when the dynasty before that fell into great chaos—

Having lived two lifetimes, Lin Liu never formally studied, but he loves reading, especially histories and romances.

But while others read histories and romances for heroic tales, Lin Liu is different—he reads for the cycle of order and chaos.

After reading long enough, he also realized: history has always turned in this cycle; every dynasty's beginning is brilliant and full of vigor, but when it falls, it is invariably dark and corrupt... "I..."

The monkey opened its mouth, then finally slumped its head down: "I didn't think that much..."

Lin Liu chuckled: "No problem, as long as you remember—we aren't merely aiming to found a new dynasty like those before; for that would be neither difficult nor meaningful."

"What we want is a true eternal golden age!"

"And since we wish to break this cycle of rise and fall, we must draw lessons from the previous dynasty..."

Lin Liu stroked the monkey's head and sighed:

"So we cannot let those rebel armies run wild attacking cities and seizing land... but that doesn't mean we must wholeheartedly prop up this declining court."

Everything now is merely a temporary compromise; we suppress the rebel army not to become dogs for the court, but to gradually strengthen ourselves while avoiding meaningless casualties, until we can easily shake the court.

The monkey looked at him, half-understanding.

So, Master, aren't you afraid that the dynastic cycle will happen to us?

Lin Liu shook his head: "Afraid!"

That's why I did those things that exhausted me…… I made them go to school, I enlightened them, resolved conflicts, and led them to punish corrupt officials and tyrannical gentry...

No one else does this, only I do…… I just want everyone to love each other, I just want everyone to be full of wisdom!

The monkey was somewhat puzzled:

But…… can these really avoid the cycle?

Lin Liu let out a helpless sigh: "I don't know."

"But this is all I can do…… If everyone had wisdom, they wouldn't casually create conflicts; if everyone had food to eat, order wouldn't fall apart…… Anything beyond that, I'll leave to my divine power to settle……"

The monkey's mind was like a clear mirror, able to see the master's perplexity:

He too was merely a mortal who grew up among mortals, so he didn't know what the remedy for saving the world was.

Just as he said, he could only do his best; what he truly couldn't resolve, he'd leave entirely to unreasonable divine power—taken from the people, used for the people, that's all.

But the monkey immediately spotted the problem in that:

"But, Master…… if divine power works, surely no one before thought of using divine power to save the people?"

"There were……"

Lin Liu said faintly: "As far as I know, the founding emperor of our dynasty was an unparalleled master who cultivated the Divine Dao; three hundred years ago he achieved Completed Dharma Form, successively defeated the previous dynasty's imperial troops, and finally ascended the Son of Heaven's throne."

"After he became emperor, he used divine power to bless the realm with favorable weather and timely rains, cracked down hard on corrupt officials, curbed land consolidation, and thereby established a prosperous age that lasted one hundred twenty years……"

The monkey frowned: "Why only one hundred twenty years? Isn't a Divine Dao master who has achieved Completed Dharma Form supposed to be immortal?"

"Who knows?"

Lin Liu sighed:

"All in all, one hundred twenty years later the founding emperor abdicated, after which there was no further word—unknown whether he lived or died…… The succeeding emperors of later generations were all ordinary mortals of average ability, lacking both the will and the strength to maintain the prosperous age, and so the realm gradually weakened……"

After thinking, the monkey said seriously: "Then let's march on the capital!"

"I want to see whether that old emperor is alive or dead, and whether a true god who has achieved Completed Dharma Form can really die of old age."

"Again, impatient!"

Lin Liu rubbed its head and scolded with a smile:

"We've only just started out, and you're already thinking that far ahead! Let's wait until we've both achieved completion, then go to the capital to find out."

"Mm! I'll follow the master's lead!"

The monkey nodded, gazing at his own master with boundless admiration:

"This master is not mistakenly followed! Although he isn't an unparalleled powerhouse, his heart holds countless mortals, and he truly wishes to bring eternal peace to those strangers."

"In this respect, master and I are alike—he wants to lead mortals to peace, while I want to lead those monkeys and their descendants to longevity."

"And whether it's for mortals or for those monkeys and their offspring, the only hope right now lies with the master."

"Master, possessing countless possibilities……"

"【At age thirty‑five that year, you easily crushed the still‑rising Western King, then declared war on the remaining Four Kings!】"

"【That year, you officially raised the banners 'Support the Emperor, Destroy the Rebels' and 'Honor the Emperor, Punish the Traitors', personally leading your followers to suppress every rebel army!】"

"【You successfully stepped onto the grand stage of the troubled times, and with a sideways thrust entered the view of the court and all the heroes under heaven!】"

"……"

"(End of Chapter)"